11
Cuixtli stood lost in thought staring out at the stars on a viewing port of the "Ash'Nashas." The "Indefatigable" was currently stored in the hanger of the "Ash'Nashas." Many mercenary groups in Sub Sector Tegmen relied on large warp capable ships to ferry them to contract locations. The "Ash'Nashas" was a Tau trading vessel heading towards Estenhid Major, the location of their current mercenary contract.
On Estenhid Major they were contracted to fight against a Raexa invasion led by a Goan Mournwalker. A Mournwalker was a combination medical doctor, priest, and political leader. Like all Raexa races, the Goan had spent centuries trapped on their home world by warp storms.
The warp storm that trapped the bird like Goan, brought with it Nurgle's plagues. Under the warp storm that raged around their planet for centuries the entire race became infected by a plague called eye rot. This plague ate away at the eyes of most victims.
These victim's empty eye sockets would fill with pus. The pus would attract a type of fly-like warp entity. These so called warp flies would lay eggs in the pus. The warp spawned maggots that infested their eye sockets would drop from their eyes, like squirming tears. Those who lost their eyes to the eye rot were called the Blissful by the Goan.
Eye Rot led to the rise of the Mournwalkers as leaders of Goan society. The Mournwalkers cried out to the heavens for deliverance from the Eye Rot. This deliverance came in a way the Goan did not expect. Instead of curing their illness, those who called to the Plague God lost the ability to feel pain.
These who were chosen by the Plague God, the Goan's Great Father, had Eye Rot effect them in different ways. Those chosen as Mournwalkers had their bodies stretched to unnatural heights. The Mournwalkers had impressive resilience even for devotes of the Plague God.
Those chosen by the Great Father but not selected as Mournwalkers were called the Rot Chosen. These elite warriors were on par with the Imperium's Tempestus Scions. Cuixtli realized he was not entirely correct. In terms of pure skill the Rot Chosen were not equal to Tempestus Scions. It was more a combination of the Rot Chosen's skill combined with the durability gifted by the Plague God that made them a match for the Scions.
Twocaste stood nearby looking at the stars. Cuixtli was so adept at peering into the minds of others that at sometimes he heard the thoughts of others without consciously looking into their minds. She looked towards Nu'shar thinking of the man she loved. Twocaste could not help but worry about Syra.
Syra had met up with a separate Tau trading vessel to take him and his Kill Team to Nu'shar. Syra's team were likely still heading to their destination now.
Worrying about Syra brought up memories of Tach. Cuixtli felt guilty about hearing these private thoughts, but Twocaste's emotions were so raw, he couldn't help but hear them. Tach was the shaper of the group of Kroot mercenaries she had spent her late adolescent years among. Tach had been like a second father to her. Being raised outside of the creche had already given her unusual views on familial relations for a Tau. Tach had been important being to Twocaste, Tach's death still hurt her.
Tach had died on Adrand's Citadel. Thinking about Adrand's Citadel made her absent-mindedly inspect her coat. There had been a Tau woman who had worn a coat like it she had met on Adrand's Citadel. This other woman's advice was a large part of who she had crafted herself into.
Syra and Twocaste knew of the visions that had brought many to guide them to where they were now. Yet they did not understand the nature of what so many saw in them. Twocaste and Syra were important threads that were part of something some Aeldari called the "Shadow Thread." The "Shadow Thread" was so called because it was an unusual thread that was a weaving of multiple small threads, but no central thread.
The "Shadow Thread" looked like a dark thread on the Skein due to it being hollow. Many believed the "Shadow Thread" was not truly without a central thread. It was believed by some, that instead being woven around a being, it was woven around an ideal. This ideal seemed to be similar to what humans on Terra referred to as the "Golden Rule," "do unto others as you would have them do unto you."
In a galaxy where tolerance was a naive fiction and hate was drink and food, this seemed a foolish endeavour. Cuixtli himself had not believed it was possible to hold to such a belief in the times he lived in. In being around Twocaste he wasn't so sure it was a completely lost cause. Though Twocaste wasn't versed in the ideals of ancient Terra her ideals were similar to the "Golden Rule."
Somehow despite everything in the galaxy as it was, she made it work. It could be that beings cooperated with her because of effects of her being a descendant of "Project Bridge." Ultimately however Cuixtli believed it didn't matter if it was just because of "Project Bridge" or not. The little community she built was too good a thing to worry about where it came from. That didn't justify the Tau empire's use of mind control, it was just that beings had to hold onto the small few good things in the galaxy.
The weeks since adding the Pisceans to Twocaste's force, had shown Cuixtli just how Twocaste made her beliefs work. For weeks many had objected to someone with Fred's sexual tastes, being one of her officers. Bob faced similar criticism for being on Syra's elite kill team. Although in Bob's case, Bob was muscular even for a Piscean and many were afraid to create trouble with him.
Rather than backing down, Twocaste and Syra stood behind Bob and Fred. This nearly broke Twocaste's force, still Twocaste and Syra insisted on standing by Fred and Bob. After weeks of tension things settled down. After those weeks of tension the final result seemed to be a much stronger team. Fred and Bob seemed to throw themselves into their work stronger with Twocaste and Syra's backing.
Many still resented Fred and Bob's proclivities, yet seeing Twocaste and Syra stand by Fred and Bob made these doubters rethink their stances. Ultimately it was easier to have faith in Twocaste as she placed a priority on the agency of her team members. Over time Twocaste's willingness to stand by her principles brought others to empathizing with her ideals.
In seeing all this Cuixtli finally saw that there was something about Twocaste that made the weaving of the "Shadow Thread" possible. Twocaste and Syra were, in some way unknown even to Cuixtli himself, important to the weaving of the "Shadow Thread." Before, despite his skepticism, Cuixtli had seen enough to believe the "Shadow Thread" was important, but he had doubted that ideals such as Twocaste's could really work. Somehow she made those ideals work well enough that Cuixtli believed in them now as well.
There were many strange theories of where the shadow thread came from. Some believed it was actually a product of the more benevolent sides of the gods of Chaos. The Chaos gods were not purely evil, they were more embodiments of primordial forces.
Khorne was not simply a force of raw violence. Khorne was also the embodiment of the honourable warrior who had the strength to stand for his cause. Tzeentch was not simply a master of twisting schemes, and plots on plots. Tzeentch was also the power of adaptability. Nurgle was not simply the lord of decay and disease. Nurgle was also part of the cycle of rebirth and the giver of the will to endure against the hardship of the galaxy. Slaanesh was not simply the embodiment of excessive indulgence. Slaanesh was also the embodiment of the experiential side of life.
The believers in this narrative believed that the mad sides of the Chaos gods was a reflection of the madness of the galaxy. However it was believed that inside the howling sea of madness that was the Chaos gods was a tiny guttering flame of sanity. These tiny pieces of sanity could do little against the stronger mad sides of themselves.
However; every once in awhile these sane pieces came to the surface. When these times occurred these sane pieces could do little but cast small, seemingly unimportant stones, hoping they could make big ripples in the sea of fate.
Twocaste and Syra were supposedly two of these stones. Cuixtli didn't know if this was true, and ultimately he no longer cared if it was. Twocaste stood steadfast to her belief that every being around her wished to be treated as if they mattered. And somehow in a galaxy defined by hate, she made it work.
Cuixtli didn't care what fate was behind Twocaste any more because he had seen her work. Twocaste fostered hope in a better galaxy in Cuixtli's heart. He now was sure she would come out of the coming tests stronger. Twocaste didn't know but she would be tested before she arrived at the location of her new contract.
The viewing port closed as the "Ash'Nashas" prepared to make the shallow warp jump that Tau vessels used. The jump would be deeper than the captain intended. Cuixtli turned to Twocaste "Could I speak to you in private?" "Sure" Twocaste said turned and beckoned Cuixtli to follow her to the "Indefatigable."
The bridge of the "Indefatigable" was currently deserted with the rest of Twocaste's team exploring the "Ash'Nashas." When they were on the bridge Twocaste asked Cuixtli "What did you want to talk about?" Cuixtli held up one of his long padded green fingers signalling her to wait.
Twocaste looked around as if he was telling her there was someone listing. This wasn't what Cuixtli was waiting for however. The "Ash Nashas" rocked as the tides of the warp pulled the ship deeper into the warp than the vessel was meant to go.
Twocaste tensed listening for what was happening to the ship. Cuixtli didn't react he had foreseen what was happening. Cuixtli stood silent watching the main exit out of the bridge. Twocaste couldn't see what Cuixtli's psychic sight allowed him to see. Cuixtli admired the empyric twisting of reality around the doorway.
Cuixtli watched as the door shifted from leading back into the corridors of the "Indefatigable" to an alternate timeline and alternate place. As reality shifted around the door the sounds of battle came from the other side. Twocaste took her pulse rifle from her back "Daemons have entered the ship."
Most Tau were unaware of daemons, Twocaste however had seen much on Adrand's Citadel. Cuixtli kept his gaze on the door "The Ash'Nashas has not been boarded, the vessel on the other side of that door is what has been boarded." Twocaste gave him a searching "What do you mean?" Twocaste asked the question, clearly afraid of the answer she already suspected. "The twisting of the warp has opened a path to an alternate timeline." Twocaste gave Cuixtli a wary look. "You would have me walk through this door?" Cuixtli simply stared at her "You must see what is beyond this door for your path."
In her mind Cuixtli heard Twocaste thinking "I don't know if I should trust him, but somehow I think this is for the best." "All right" she said finally. She made a motion beckoning Cuixtli to follow. The two of them then followed their fate through the door.